Health Policy Commons^™

Pandemics And Partisanship: The Impact Of Political Identity On Public Health Responses, Andy Tuholski

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This literature review examines the intersection of political partisanship and public health responses during pandemics, with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Historically, pandemics such as the Venetian plague (1575-1577) and the Great Plague of London (1665-1666) have elicited responses driven by socioeconomic and health factors. In contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. was distinctly shaped by pre-existing political affiliations, particularly between conservative and liberal factions. Applying Social Identity Theory (SIT), this review explores how group identity and partisanship influenced pandemic-related behaviors and attitudes. Empirical evidence indicates that Republican-leaning states experienced higher COVID-19 mortality rates, …

The Invisible Costs Of Privatizing Welfare: Administrative Burdens In Contracted Medicaid, Soyun Jeong

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Why do governments favor contracting out social services? Do private actors guarantee a better service experience for citizens? How should we understand the trade-off between efficiency and high-quality service delivery? These are the central questions that motivate this dissertation. Focusing on Medicaid, one of the largest social safety net programs in the United States, this dissertation investigates the impact of outsourcing Medicaid delivery to private health insurance companies. It explores how this privatized structure generates administrative burdens and shapes policy feedback effects. Theoretically, this project seeks to bridge the administrative burden and policy feedback literature by examining how burdensome policy …

A Hybrid Cloud Data Lake Architecture Supporting The Integration Of Clinical And Genomics Data, Apollo Mcowiti, Heidi Dowst, Fei Zheng, Susan Hilsenbeck, Christopher Amos

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: Cancer centers must quickly integrate clinical genomics data from different vendors for oncology operations and research. Clinical data warehouse architectures are costly to construct and brittle, and they are not readily amenable to the rapid changes in oncology research. We introduce a cost-effective hybrid cloud Data Lake architecture for storing clinical genomic data from different vendors, aiding both clinical and research workflows.

Methods: We created a Data Lake architecture based on the zone architecture, with four layers: ingestion, storage, transformation, and interaction. The layers are implemented with a hybrid cloud architecture. Rich metadata created from patient and genomic data …

Methadone For Critically Ill Patients Under Mechanical Ventilation In The Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review, Sérgio Martins Pereira, Megan Abbott, João Francisco Figueiredo Marcondes Ferraz, Akash Goel, Andrea Rigamonti, Charmaine De Castro, Lisa Burry, Airton Leonardo De Oliveira Manoel, Michael Chaim Sklar

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Purpose: Pain may pose significant challenges in the intensive care unit, especially in mechanically ventilated patients. Methadone has recently emerged as an alternative option for eliciting acute analgesia. In this systematic review, we evaluated the use of methadone in mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit.

Source: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Wiley's Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed (non-MEDLINE), Scopus, and LILACS databases from inception to January 24th, 2025. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and observational studies that compared the use of methadone to the standard of care or to other analgosedation strategies in mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive …

Impact Of Personalized Risk Scores On Shared Decision Making In Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation: Findings From A Qualitative Study, Holland Kaplan, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Benjamin Lang, Robert J Volk, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: To assess stakeholders' perspectives on integrating personalized risk scores (PRS) into left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation decisions and how these perspectives might impact shared decision making (SDM).

Methods: We conducted 40 in-depth interviews with physicians, nurse coordinators, patients, and caregivers about integrating PRS into LVAD implantation decisions. A codebook was developed to identify thematic patterns, and quotations were consolidated for analysis. We used Thematic Content Analysis in MAXQDA software to identify themes by abstracting relevant quotes.

Results: Clinicians had varying preferences regarding PRS integration into LVAD decision making, while patients and caregivers preferred real-time discussions about PRS with …

A Worker's Struggle, Sakan Binte Imran, Shadman Mahmood Khan Pathan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

[Introduction] The casualty department at Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital was crowded, as it always was. The air smelled of antiseptics, and hurried footsteps echoed through the narrow corridors. It was another day of internship, and I had just finished checking on a patient when a nurse called me over.

“There’s a new case in Trauma. Factory worker. Severe hand injury.”

I hurried over and found a man sitting on the examination table. His face was pale, and his forehead was glistening with sweat. His right hand was wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth. His left hand trembled as he …

Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes And Economic Burdens Among Minorities In Southeastern Virginia, Ismail El Moudden, Asra Amidi, Reem Sharaf Alddin, Michael Bittner, Qi Zhang

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Background

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the United States, presenting significant public health challenges and financial burdens, particularly in Southeastern Virginia, where African American and Hispanic (AA&H) populations are disproportionately affected.

Methods

This retrospective observational study analyzed data from 30,855 hospital discharges of AA&H patients across Southeastern Virginia from 2016 to 2020, focusing on individuals aged 18 to 85 with cardiovascular diseases. Utilizing the Virginia Health Information database, we examined demographic information, clinical data, and healthcare utilization patterns through hypothesis tests and regression models to explore associations between these variables and the economic impacts of cardiovascular …

Association Of Maternity Care Deserts With Maternal And Pregnancy-Related Mortality, Rula Atwani, Lindsay Robbins, George Saade

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the association between the level of maternity care access and maternal and pregnancy-related mortality.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional analysis of county-level data in the United States from January 2018 to December 2021. Using the level of maternity care access, we categorized counties into desert, low access, moderate access, and full access. The primary outcome of interest was maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births. A secondary outcome was pregnancy-related mortality rate per 100,000 live births. Absolute risk differences and adjusted incidence rate ratios were calculated for maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality with multivariable negative binomial mixed-effects …

Naloxone Availability And Affordability: An Analysis Of Pharmacies Across New York State, Dina R. Maloney

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The United States (US) has experienced a significant increase in the number of opioid overdose deaths since 1999. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in the US, surpassing other injury causes such as motor vehicle accidents. Opioids are most commonly associated with drug overdose deaths. The opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan®, has gained popularity in recent years as a critical tool for reducing the number of opioid overdose deaths. Naloxone Access Laws (NALs) and standing orders have been implemented by states nationwide in an effort to increase the availability …

Survivorship From Pediatric And Adult Brain Tumors: The 2024 Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium Meeting Report, Scott L Coven, Roberta Mckean-Cowdin, Michael E Scheurer, Kimberly J Johnson, Luc Bauchet, Carol Kruchko, Ching C Lau, Quinn T Ostrom, John Villano, Yan Yuan, Friederike Erdmann

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium (BTEC) is an international organization with membership of individuals from the scientific community with interests related to brain tumor epidemiology, including surveillance, classification, methodology, etiology, and factors associated with morbidity and survival. The 2024 annual BTEC meeting entitled “Survivorship from Pediatric and Adult Brain Tumors” was held in Mainz, Germany, USA, on May 15–17, 2024. The meeting gathered scientists from Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America and included 4 keynote sessions focusing on brain tumor survivorship across the age spectrum. The meeting included 3 abstract sessions, which also included scientific talks around brain …

A Landscape Analysis Of Psychedelic Retreat Organizations Advertising Online, Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Caroline S Beit, Jill Oliver Robinson, Nikita Singh, Srijith Kambala, Rishi Ramesh, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Research into psychedelics' clinical potential has corresponded to a growth in public interest and adult use. One common pathway to accessing psychedelics is through psychedelic retreats. While individual retreats have been characterized in the anthropological literature, no systematic evaluation of the psychedelic retreat industry exists. Assessing the characteristics of the psychedelic retreat industry is critical to understanding the associated ethical, legal, and social implications and ensuring consumer safety. To this end, we conducted a landscape analysis of online, publicly available information to capture and characterize a broad range of organizations offering psychedelic retreats and marketing to English-speaking consumers. From July …

Advancing Medical Applications Of Cancer Nanotechnology: Highlighting Two Decades Of The Nci's Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory Service To The Research Community, Rachael M Crist, Yechezkel Barenholz, Ahuva Cern, Kate N Clark, Pieter R Cullis, Cheryl Dean, Neil Desai, Mauro Ferrari, Matthieu Germain, Carmen A Giacomantonio, Emma Grabarnik, Piotr Grodzinski, Atara Hod, Barry E Kennedy, Ruvanthi N Kularatne, Glen S Kwon, Emmanuel Loeb, Erin B Noftall, Len Pagliaro, Morteza Rasoulianboroujeni, Alexander Roth, Darren Rowles, Kulbir Singh, Nicole F Steinmetz, Zhanna Yehtina, Yao Zhang, Daniel Zilbersheid, Jeffrey D Clogston, Stephan T Stern, Marina A Dobrovolskaia

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) is a US federally funded resource providing characterization and expertise to the cancer nanomedicine research community. Founded as a formal partnership among the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NCL has spent two decades developing a one-of-a-kind service with broad multidisciplinary expertise to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving drug development field. To mark the 20th anniversary of the lab's founding, the NCL hosted a symposium to highlight the achievements of the cancer nanomedicine field, showcase novel, …

When Families Bridge The Research-Clinical Divide: An Exploration Of Values Regarding Cascade Screening In Genomic Research, Katherine E Bonini, Lauren R Desrosiers-Battu, Ann Katherine M Foreman, Nuriye N Sahin-Hodoglugil, Mary A Majumder, Candice R Finnila, Stephanie A Kraft, Laura M Amendola, Eimear E Kenny, Stephanie M Fullerton, Sara L Ackerman, Benjamin S Wilfond, Amy L Mcguire, Hadley Stevens Smith

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Purpose: Genetic results are important for both patients and their biological relatives. However, cascade screening (CS) uptake is low, especially when testing occurs through research programs and not clinical care. Ethical guidance is needed for CS implementation when individuals receive clinical genetic results through research.

Methods: We conducted focus groups with 3 groups of individuals in the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research Consortium: clinicians, patient representatives, and scholars of the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics. We used inductive thematic and comparative analyses to analyze data within and across the groups.

Results: All participants (n = 27) agreed that …

On Minimizing Risk And Harm In The Use Of Psychedelics, Jules Evans, Marc Aixalà, Brian T Anderson, William Brennan, Rebecka Bremler, Joost J Breeksema, Lisa Burback, Abigail E Calder, Robin L Carhart-Harris, Katherine Cheung, Neşe Devenot, Ingmar Gorman, Jakub Greń, Peter S Hendricks, Brian Holoyda, Edward Jacobs, Joy Krecké, Daniel J Kruger, David Luke, Tomislav Majić, Amy L Mcguire, Nicky J Mehtani, David S Mathai, Kristin Nash, Tehseen Noorani, Roman Palitsky, Oliver C Robinson, Otto Simonsson, Elin Stahre, Michiel Van Elk, David B Yaden

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net.

Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety.

Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors of those harms, and the most effective way to treat those harms. They also call for better support for those experiencing post-psychedelic difficulties, including better online information, peer support groups, affordable therapy, and psychiatric consultation and medication. Finally, the authors call for better …

Reframing Stigma In Tourette Syndrome: An Updated Scoping Review, Kelly Pring, Melina Malli, Brandy W Hardy, Stephen R Rapp, Eric A Storch, Jonathan W Mink, Jaclyn M Martindale

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Persistent tic disorders (PTD) such as Tourette's syndrome (TS) are common childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorders. Stigmatization of individuals with these disorders remains an ongoing problem. The purpose of this scoping review is to serve as an updated review of the research regarding stigmatization in youth with PTD since the publication of the original systematic review about this topic in 2016. The electronic databases Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched. Of the 4751 initial articles screened after removing duplications, 47 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies were examined under the social-ecological stigmatization model, which helps categorize stigmatization …

Patient-Centric Federated Learning: Automating Meaningful Consent To Health Data Sharing With Smart Contracts, Kristin M Kostick-Quenet, Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Mateo Aboy, Timo Minssen

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Federated Learning (FL) promises to enhance data-driven health research by enabling collaborative machine learning across distributed datasets without direct data exchange. However, current FL implementations primarily reflect the data-sharing interests of institutional controllers rather than those of individual patients whose data are at stake. Existing consent mechanisms-like broad consent under HIPAA or explicit consent under the GDPR-fail to provide patients with control over how their data is used. This article explores the integration of smart contracts (SCs) into FL as a mechanism for automating, enforcing, and documenting consent in data transactions. SCs, encoded in decentralized ledger technologies, can ensure that …

Adolescent And Caregiver Preparation For Legal Changes At Age 18, Blanca Sanchez-Fournier, Jordyn Babla, Mary Majumder, Beth H Garland, Constance M Wiemann, Albert C Hergenroeder

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Most adolescents with special healthcare needs (ASHCN) will assume legal responsibility for making decisions about their medical treatment at age 18. Simultaneously, parents or other legal representatives (Caregivers) will lose ASHCN medical record access. This study examined ASHCN and Caregiver knowledge of, satisfaction with, and suggestions for improvement in preparing for these changes.

Methods: Eighty-three dyads (18-year-old ASHCN and Caregivers) completed an assessment to evaluate their knowledge about changes in responsibility for decision making with a focus on consent, satisfaction with the preparation received, and recommendations for improved preparation. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used. Responses to open-ended …

Deep Brain Stimulation For Childhood Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Mental Health Clinician Views On Candidacy Factors, Ilona Cenolli, Tiffany A Campbell, Natalie Dorfman, Meghan Hurley, Jared N Smith, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Eric A Storch, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is approved under a humanitarian device exemption to manage treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD) in adults. It is possible that DBS may be trialed or used clinically off-label in children and adolescents with TR-OCD in the future. DBS is already used to manage treatment-resistant childhood dystonia. Evidence suggests it is a safe and effective intervention for certain types of dystonia. Important questions remain unanswered about the use of DBS in children and adolescents with TR-OCD, including whether mental health clinicians would refer pediatric patients for DBS, and who would be a good candidate for DBS.

Objectives: …

Investigative Genetic Genealogy Practices Warranting Policy Attention: Results Of A Modified Policy Delphi, Christi J Guerrini, Louiza Kalokairinou, Jill O Robinson, Whitney Bash Brooks, Stephanie M Fullerton, Sara Huston, Jacklyn Dahlquist, Diana Madden, Norah Crossnohere, Nicola Campoamor, John F P Bridges, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

A technique known as investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) was first introduced to criminal investigations in 2018, and it has since been used by U.S. law enforcement to help identify hundreds of criminal perpetrators and unidentified human remains. As expertise in IGG grows, policymakers have shown interest in regulating it. To help inform these efforts and to promote coherence in IGG governance as it expands, we recruited experts representing a spectrum of IGG-relevant professions and perspectives to identify and prioritize IGG practices for policy attention and to develop policy options for addressing them. In two rounds of a modified policy Delphi, …

Health Literacy Of Unhealthy Diet Consumption In Thailand, Sitaporn Suriya, Buraskorn Torut

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing worldwide, including in Thailand. One risk factor for NCDs is an unhealthy diet. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the consumption of an unhealthy diet and determine the proactive policies that support factors inhibiting an unhealthy diet.

Methods: We investigated the factors affecting unhealthy diet consumption behavior by multiple linear regression analysis by surveying 970 Thai patients with early-stage NCD. In addition, we investigated appropriate policy proposals by conducting in-depth interviews with 20 key informants.

Results: Knowledge (−0.247, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.285 to −0.210), …